In the past few weeks, I have heard a number of people express dissatisfaction over the current parking situation. In general, I feel that people do have valid concerns over the apparent lack of parking, and I agree that it is a burden on everyone. However, the part that really bothers me is the fact that people attribute the situation to poor planning on the part of the Institute. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact of the matter is that the current situation is a very well thought out and executed plan that makes the best of a bad situation.
I have yet to hear a single workable alternative plan put forth from anyone unhappy with the current situation that would alleviate the parking situation on campus for every-one. And I do not believe that I will ever hear one because there is nothing anyone can do, short of paving over one of the playing fields, to magically create new parking spaces. It will take time for the Institute to build the parking garage—plain and simple. The situation cannot improve before it is completed.
Most of the suggestions that I have heard put forth involve letting commuters back into the parking lots in the core campus (i.e. let us park in North Lot) because of the supposed large number of free parking spaces. Believe me, during peak times there are not that many open spaces. This kind of unrestricted use of parking lots in the core campus would not only make it impossible for anyone to find a space there, but it would turn the entire campus into a parking nightmare.
I ask my fellow students to have a little patience. Despite any problems that people may have with the parking shuttles, I have not heard a suggestion for a better solution than the one that is currently in place. I think it was very considerate for the Institute to put the amount of planning into parking during the construction that they did. If you think that you have a better solution, or even an idea for an improvement to the current system, I would en-courage you to give it some thought and bring it to the attention of the Campus Parking Office.
